Conservative treatment of the cubital tunnel syndrome.

Conservative treatment of the cubital tunnel syndrome was evaluated in a randomised study of 70 patients with mild or moderate symptoms (Dellon, 1989). All patients were informed about the cause of symptoms and allocated to three groups: night splinting, nerve gliding and control. Evaluation consisted of Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, visual analogue pain scales, strength measurements and neurophysiological examination, before treatment and after six months. Fifty-seven patients were followed for six months. Fifty-one (89.5%) were improved at the follow-up. There were no significant differences between the groups in any of the recorded variables. Night splints and nerve gliding exercises did not add favourably. Routine neurophysiological examination seems unnecessary since 76% of the patients with typical symptoms had normal findings and 75% with pathological findings improved. Patients with mild or moderate symptoms have a good prognosis if they are informed of the causes of the condition and how to avoid provocation.

[Development of a CAN (controller area network) bus for modules of a perfused cell culture system]. / Entwicklung einer CAN-Bus-Kopplung für Module eines perfundierten Zellkultursystems.

For computer-aided data acquisition and automated running of experiments in cell cultivation reactors networking of all sensoric and actoric devices is required. A low cost and high performance solution to this demand can be found by using the widely established CAN (Controller Area Network) bus. If standard PCs running MS Windows are used to control this network special measures have to be taken to prevent loss of data caused by differences in the computing power of the PC on one hand and microcontroller-based devices on the other.

Lipophorin as a lipid carrier in the hemolymph of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus.

A high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was obtained from the hemolymph of Limulus polyphemus in yields generally less than 30 micrograms/ml by ultracentrifugal flotation. SDS-PAGE revealed two apolipoproteins with masses similar to those of apolipophorins (apoLp-I, 265 +/- 14 kDa; apoLp-II, 89 +/- 6 kDa). Lipid composition was different from both insect lipophorin and crustacean HDL, and showed less diacylglycerols than triacylglycerols (3.8% and 36.2% of total lipids, respectively). Since Limulus polyphemus is closely related to precambrian chelicerates, our results confirm that lipophorin was present early in the evolution of arthropods.

Lipophorin as a lipid carrier in the hemolymph of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus

A high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was obtained from the hemolymph of Limulus polyphemus in yields generally less than 30 micrograms/ml by ultracentrifugal flotation. SDS-PAGE revealed two apolipoproteins with masses similar to those of apolipophorins (apoLp-I, 265 +/- 14 kDa; apoLp-II, 89 +/- 6 kDa). Lipid composition was different from both insect lipophorin and crustacean HDL, and showed less diacylglycerols than triacylglycerols (3.8 and 36.2 of total lipids, respectively). Since Limulus polyphemus is closely related to precambrian chelicerates, our results confirm that lipophorin was present early in the evolution of arthropods.

Transdermal oestrogen replacement therapy in a Finnish population.

In an open, multicentre study, transdermal administration of oestradiol (E2) by means of skin patches was investigated in a Finnish patient population suffering from typical post-menopausal symptoms. A total of 249 women applied a patch twice weekly for 6 months. Whereas 85% of the subjects were experiencing hot flushes and 83.5% sweating before therapy, only 5.7% and 11.8%, respectively, reported these symptoms at the end of the trial. Furthermore, 97.6%, 95.7% and 94.8% of the subjects reported that depression, headache and sleep disturbances, respectively, had disappeared during therapy. Skin irritation occurred in 18.2% of these predominantly fair-skinned women. Frequent sauna bathing did not interfere with the patch therapy. General acceptance of the treatment was excellent, 84.8% of the patients completing the treatment, of whom 78% were willing to continue the treatment after the trial. These results show that transdermal administration of E2 is effective in relieving post-menopausal symptoms. Local tolerability was good and the majority of the patients considered the transdermal treatment to be superior to their previous oral replacement therapy.

Treatment for alteration in oral mucosa related to chemotherapy.

Possibly one of the most painful and difficult side effects of chemoradiotherapy is stomatitis. Early intervention to limit its severity and aggressive treatment to prevent related complications such as infection and hemorrhage are essential.

[Proceedings: Hematopoiesis in chronic pyelonephritis. Quantitative-morphological study]. / Hämopoiese bei chronischer Pyelonephritis Quantitativ-morphologische Untersuchungen

Bone marrow biopsies from the iliac crest in 56 patients with chronic pyelonephritis were evaluated quantitively and correlated with renal function and peripheral blood values (n = 100). In proportion to increasing serum creatinine, mild marrow hypoplasia develops which mainly, and to a statistically significant extent, affects the percentage and amount of erythropoietic cells and megakaryocytes. The simultaneous reduction of erythrocytes and reticulocytes in peripheral blood is more pronounced and only slightly correlated to the marrow cells. There is no correlation between the number of peripheral granulocytes or the decrease in lymphocytes concomitant with uremia, and their respective precursors in the marrow.

[High titer cold agglutinins with anti-pr specificity after rubella infection (author's transl)]. / Hochtitrige Kälteagglutinine der Spezilfität Anti-Pr nach Rötelninfektion

High titer cold agglutinins (CA) after rubella infection are reported. When the rubella exanthema disappeared the clinical aspect of a cold agglutinin disease was observed. Three weeks after the appearance of the cutaneous eruption the CA titer reached a maximum of 1/8000, to then continuously fall off to normal values within 20 weeks. Double diffusion tests showed that the isolated CA were IgM proteins that possess only chi-type light chains. In spite of normal protein- and immunoelectrophoresis patterns obtained with whole serum samples, the isolated CA showed restricted electrophoretic mobility and a deformation of the precipitate typical for monoclonal immunoglobulins. In contrast to the common anti-I specificity of IgM CA, the IgM CA described showed anti-Pr specificity. Possible interrelations between CA specificities and types of germs inducing reactive cold agglutination are discussed.

[A simplified macrophage migration inhibition test to measure T-cell derived immunity in man]. / Beschreibung eines vereinfachten Makrophagenmigrationshemm-testes zur Messung Zellvermittelter Immunreaktionen beim Menschen.

A macrophage migration inhibition test using heterologous cells (DMMTH) is performed in an agarose-droplet technique. A suspension consisting of peritoneal exsudate cells from Guinea pig and human lymphocytes, mixed with 0,2 percent agarose is dispensed in droplets with a dispenser into culture chambers used for the leukocyte migration inhibition test. Macrophages migrate out of the gelified droplets. Migration areas can be measured by planimetry. Migration areas are exact to 8.6 percent. A significant migration inhibition, caused by migration inhibitory factors is observed after the reaction of the specific antigen with sensitized lymphocytes in the agarose droplet. The sensitivity of the test has been demonstrated in Mantoux positive persons.

Cell envelope and shape of Escherichia coli K12.

Rod-shaped "ghosts" that are free of murein have been isolated from E. coli. The shape of these "ghosts" is maintained by a unit membrane soluble in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Ghosts consist of about 20-30% phospholipid (almost exclusively phosphatidylethanolamine) and 50-60% protein; a large fraction of the remaining material is lipopolysaccharide. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis reveals 4-5 different bands corresponding to molecular weights between 10,000 and 40,000. Treatment of ghosts with Pronase reduces this number to 3, and the rod shape still is not lost. Results of treatment of ghosts with a crude extract from Dictyostelium discoideum have supplied tentative evidence that at least one of these proteins is involved in the maintenance of rod shape. It does not appear too unlikely that these polypeptide chains are the final products of the genetic information specifying cellular shape.

Model for the structure of the shape-maintaining layer of the Escherichia coli cell envelope.

The surface area per repeating murein unit (i.e. per molecule of diaminopimelate) has been determined for the cell envelopes of the Escherichia coli strains K-12 and W. This area was constantly found to be 1.3 nm(2). Using this value and other previously determined properties of E. coli murein, a three-dimensional model of murein is proposed. The model specifies a monomolecular layer in which disaccharide units are each 1.03 nm long, and the polysaccharide chains, all parallel, are 1.25 nm apart. The cross-linking peptide side-chains have the same atomic coordinates and are arranged above or below the polysaccharide chains.